quilting makes the quilt


so my friend Lynn brought me this little tree quilt. it's a popular pattern that pops up this time of year...and i realized that this would be a great quilt to illustrate how quilting can make the quilt.

here's the unquilted top. it's nice- we have a beautiful pine tree. the fabrics are fussy cut to provide shadows which add a nice dimension of depth and perspective.



here it is quilted. notice that the quilting enhances the quilt top design. we still have a tree; but now the sky has wind, the pine tree has needles, and the snow has drifted. the quilting adds to the story of the quilt without becoming the focal point....


that in my opinion is my number one objective when i'm brought a quilt to quilt. i am suppose to enhance the beauty of the piecing without upstaging it, add to the story- not rewrite it....that to me, is a successful finished quilt. i think that's why i'm driven to quilt- the challenge of subtlety of design....choosing designs and motifs, picking the perfect thread color, then the execution of quality stitches....as martha says, "it's a good thing" and i love it!

7 comments:

  1. Great job Shannon - your quilting certainly does make this quilt. Isn't it fun!

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  2. Absolutely beautiful. Great design, colors, fabrics, quilting. Love the lighting too!

    Inspirational. Thanks for sharing.

    SewCalGal
    www.sewcalgal.blogspot.com

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  3. This is lovely. I can't get over how three dimensional it looks. Great job quilting.

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  4. Hi Shannon,

    did you use a panto for any of the quilting? If so which ones? I really love how you quilted everything on this quilt!
    Laura T

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  5. hi laura-

    i get asked that alot...i don't own any pantos....i tried it once a lllooonnngggg time ago (in a not so distant galaxy :) ) and found it wasn't for me...all my quilting is freemotion from the front of the machine. i do use the stitch regulator, but that's about it...

    thanks for reading my blog! stop by again!

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  6. Shannon, I love the quilting on the tree quilt as well as your philosophy! It drives me crazy when the quilting overshadows all the work that goes into design and piecing; there has to be a balance.

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  7. Your quilting on the tree project is exquisite. Can you share the name of the pattern and the designer, please? I'd love to try making this.
    Thanks in advance.

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